Letters to Lisa
by QuietConspiracy
Summary: When one of their own is banned from Hogwarts under Voldemort's regime, the seventh-year Ravenclaws band together and record the year for her.
1. Chapter 1: The Idea

**A/N: It's been a while since I've written any fanfiction, and I thought I'd try to get back into it. As I'm not J.K. Rowling, nothing in this story is mine and I'm making no money off this. Enjoy.**

* * *

It was Michael who'd come up with the idea.

The nine seventh-years were sitting in the common room that night, the outside light slowly dying, when he'd suggested it. After an awkward pause, he'd continued. "Well, y'see, she's not going to be here, experiencing it all alongside us like she has been since, well, y'know-"

"No," Terry had replied. "It's perfect, Mike. Really."

Michael blushed and muttered his thanks. Morag stood up. "I got an idea." She turned quickly on her heel and ran up the stairs, her feet thundering almost too loudly.

A few minutes later, she returned, with an absolutely un-Morag-like pink flowery hatbox in one hand. In the other was a camera.

"Don't judge the box, alright? It's packaging from a _birthday present._ " she snapped as she saw Kevin and Stephen struggling to hide their ever-growing smirks.

"Sure, sure." Kevin snorted as Stephen doubled over laughing.

"Bugger off, Entwhistle, Cornfoot." Padma glared at the pair.

"Ooh, Padma's gettin' _spicy_." Kevin shot back, causing the girl to turn red and Stephen to laugh even harder.

"Boys." Su muttered just loudly enough for them to hear as she rolled her eyes. Almost immediately, the two stopped.

"Anyway," Morag continued. "So I was thinkin' we could take a picture or two and put 'em in the box, and, y'know, keep the letters in here too. Just so they're all in a convenient place and easier t' keep track of. And the box goes in the seventh-year hallway, on the table between the two dorms. Sound good?"

"Perfect." Terry said. The others nodded in agreement. Mandy, who'd been surprisingly quiet the whole time, chose to speak up.

"But where'll we take the picture?" she asked.

"Was thinkin' on the couch," Morag answered, "but anywhere's fine."

"Middle of the room," Anthony said, "More space for us all, anyhow."

It took a good ten minutes for everyone to be arranged so they'd be visible in the photograph. Finally, Morag held the camera and put her finger over the button. "Smile, everyone."

As the film came out, Morag gently tapped her wand on it. A moment later, the picture appeared.

In front, of course, was Morag; so were Mandy and Kevin, the two shortest members of the group. Leaning over Mandy's shoulder was Padma; on Kevin's side was Stephen. Anthony, Terry, Su, and Michael rounded out the back row. All smiling, yet all in stark contrast with one another as their personalities shined through. Padma's dark plait and tanned complexion were the opposite of round-faced Mandy's choppy blue-tipped bob and mischievous grin. Kevin's baby-faced, rosy-cheeked, sandy-haired self was completely different from Stephen's curls and chiseled jaw; rounded out with Morag's not-quite-a-fro, Michael's flip-floppy cut, Anthony's slicked-back style, Su's perfectly straight bangs, and Terry's signature I-look-like-I-haven't-shaved-in-three-days stubble, the nine's personalities couldn't have been more different. And yet, somehow, they all ended up dormmates six long years ago.

"It's wonderful," Su breathed. The others nodded in agreement.

"Shame I dunno how t' animate it, though," Morag sighed. "That'd've been-"

"Morag," Terry cut in, "stop. It's great. Really."

"Where'd y' learn t' take such pictures, anyhow?" Mandy raised an eyebrow.

"Y' remember the Creevey kid, right? The one who followed Potter around with that camera all the time?" Morag asked. "I took a couple o' lessons from 'im last year with Lisa. Five Sickles a pop fer half an 'our, but lad's damn good at what 'e does."

"Five Sickles? Wish I'd known 'bout 'im." Mandy said.

"Right?" Terry agreed. "But back on topic," he said and turned to face Michael before he continued, "d'you want t' include a letter now?" Michael nodded.

It was agreed that Padma should write the letter, as she had the most legible handwriting of the group. After nearly two hours of arguments, the nine finally agreed on what to say.

 _Dear Lisa,_

 _So many things have changed since last year. With the whole new Ministry thing, a hell of a lot's gone down at the school. For one, Snape is headmaster. Yeah, you read that right. Some idiot made the greasy git in charge of this place. Unbelievable, right?_

 _Moreover, there's no more Defence Against the Dark Arts classes - they got rid of them for just plain old Dark Arts. And Muggle Studies is mandatory too. Both of them are taught by a pair of siblings, the Carrows, who are known Death Eaters. Creepy looking, they are. They're also Snape's deputies. Just when it couldn't get worse, it did._

 _Finally, Harry Potter's off on the run too. It's been plastered all over the_ Prophet _. Death Eaters looking for him, making him out like some bloody criminal. Horrible, really. He's a good guy, Lisa, as we're sure you know. But it's no safer here for him than it'd be for you, unfortunately. According to Michael, it's "absolutely sickening" that such a safe-haven's becoming a hell-hole (Mandy's words in that last part)._

 _Anyhow, we're all hoping the year shapes up to be alright. With Potter gone, though, it won't be the same. Less interesting, anyway. But rest assured, we'll all be paying more attention in Charms for your sake. Or at least, Terry, Padma, and Morag will anyway. And don't worry, Kevin and Stephen won't blow up the dorm bathrooms again. And Anthony'll be on hall patrol while Su just keeps being Su. See? Maybe not as much will change as we think it already has._

 _Wish you were here,_

 _Your year- and housemates_

Padma folded and sealed up the letter before handing it to Morag, who put it in the box.

Just then, Stephen yawned, so Su looked down at her watch. "It's almost twelve-thirty. Let's try to sleep, if we can."

The rest of the seventh-years nodded sleepily and filed up the stairs, one by one.

* * *

 **End Chapter One.**

 **So a quick summary of the story-line: It's set during the year the Golden Trio were off horcrux-hunting, and focuses predominantly on the (mis)adventures of the Ravenclaws in Harry's year. Not a terribly _original_ plotline, I know, but I'd like to think the way I'm planning to carry it out is slightly more original.**

 **Quick list of all the characters featured in the chapter: Terrence "Terry" Boot, Amanda "Mandy" Brocklehurst, Michael Corner, Stephen Cornfoot, Kevin Entwhistle, Anthony Goldstein, Su Li, Morag MacDougall, Padma Patil, and Lisa Turpin (who's not actually at Hogwarts, as she's the lone Muggle-born Ravenclaw). All characters were either mentioned in the books at one point or confirmed as canon by J.K. Rowling; in any case, they all appear on the Harry Potter Lexicon page about Ravenclaw, which is good enough for me.**

 **Whatever the case may be, any questions about the story can be directed to my PMs, where I'll attempt to answer without spoiling too much. Any comments or constructive criticism may be left in the reviews below.**

 **Happy Reading,**

 **QC/Purple**


	2. Chapter 2: First Week of Class

**A/N: Familiar = I don't own it.**

 **TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of violence against children. If it's too much for you to handle, skip this chapter.**

* * *

On Friday morning, Morag overslept.

She didn't _actually_ oversleep; she just didn't wake up with enough time to tame her hair, get dressed, put on just a tiny bit of makeup, and still get to breakfast before it got too crowded.

She rolled out of bed and fell onto the floor with a thud. Luckily, Su (who was still asleep) was a heavy sleeper, so no one was woken up by the sound. Morag then sat up and listened for half a second. Mandy was still in the shower, as was evident by the off-key Weird Sisters rendition being performed; as the sound of the water grew quieter and the singing grew louder, Morag deduced Padma'd gotten out of the shower. She dug around in her trunk to find her uniform. Why, oh why, did she have to pack her socks all the way in the bottom?

Moments later, she finally found a pair that would work when Padma exited the bathroom. "Morning, Morag."

Morag grunted, grabbed her things, and headed into the bathroom.

0-0-0

By the time Morag left the bathroom half an hour later, Su was finally sitting up and awake; Padma was already gone, and Mandy was bouncing up and down on the edge of her bed.

"Hey, Su. Sleep well?" Morag asked.

Su nodded and stretched. "Gods, yes. _So_ much better than in History of Magic yesterday."

"What the bloody hell are you still doing in that class, anyway?" Mandy said as she fiddled with her tie.

Su shrugged. "I dunno. Going t' go get dressed. See y' down at breakfast."

"We can wait, if y' want." the brunette offered.

"No, no, it's fine. Don'cha be worryin' 'bout me."

"Su, you sure?"

"Yes, Mandy, just- just- just go, already."

"Fine, be that way." Mandy rolled her eyes as she walked over to Morag. "And I don't s'pose you're gonna wait f' her?"

"Let's just go, Mands." Morag answered the shorter girl.

The pair'd only just turned into the hallway when they heard a thump and some swearing in the boys' dorms.

"Everything all right in there?" Morag yelled.

Kevin popped his head out. "Yeah, yeah, Steve just realized he's out of contact solution so he's stuck wearing his specs 'til Christmas."

"That sucks. Any of you almost done in there?"

"No, but Tony and Terry're both downstairs."

"Thanks Kev."

"No problem," he replied before swinging the door shut again.

Sure enough, both of the boys were waiting in the common room when the two girls came down.

"Top o' th' morning t' ya, girls." Terry did his best faux-Irish accent. Mandy did her best not to laugh while Morag rolled her eyes.

"Morag, Mandy." Anthony nodded at at them. His gaze lingered on Mandy for a second longer. "You look...nicer than usual, I guess? I dunno, I'm not very good with this-"

"Tony, cut yer babblin' and watch the pro." Terry said, getting up and walking to Mandy. He bowed and kissed her hand. "Ohoho, pretty lass, ain'cha? Tryin' t' impress a certain puff o' Huffle, I see?"

"Boot, sod off. Besides, I talk about Zach's arse just as much as you talk about Zabini's."

"Touché, Amanda, touché indeed." Terry smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. "But seriously, let's get down to breakfast before the first years eat it all."

And so the four headed out the door.

0-0-0

That afternoon, the nine headed off to their first Dark Arts class.

"Wonder what it'll be like," Terry said. The others shrugged and Stephen, who was still in a funk over having to wear his glasses, whispered something in Kevin's ear.

"Sorry, Cornfoot, couldn't quite catch that." Padma raised an eyebrow at the taller boy.

"I just said, what can they really _do_ to us? Or make us do? I mean, most of the Dark stuff's illegal. Isn't it?"

"At the very least, even the legal stuff'll send us t' the hospital wing, won't it?" Mandy asked as she started fidgeting with her tie again.

"Dunno 'bout that, Mands, but it ain't pleasant, from what I hear, anyhow." Anthony answered as he pushed the classroom door open.

In the classroom, all of the Hufflepuffs had shown up; save, of course for Justin Finch-Fletchley and Oliver Rivers, both of whom hadn't been seen since Dumbledore's funeral. Likewise, only a few of the Gryffindors were there: Seamus Finnigan, Padma's twin Parvati, Eloise Midgen, Lavender Brown, and Neville Longbottom. The nine Ravenclaws broke off into groups, with Mandy choosing to sit by Zacharias Smith and the other Hufflepuffs; Anthony sat with Su, Kevin with Stephen, Padma with Morag, and Michael with Terry.

No sooner had Terry taken his seat had the door reopened, and all of the Slytherins filed in. The eight snakes took the remaining seats; before the door had a chance to close, Professor Carrow walked in, followed by three smaller figures.

"Good afternoon, class."

"Good afternoon, Professor Carrow."

"I see some of you've got yer books out already. Put 'em away; we shan't be needin' 'em today." Terry turned around and raised his eyebrows at that; Su pretended to examine her nails while Anthony merely shrugged. Though everyone complied, the Ravenclaws could see the looks of confusion being spread around the classroom.

"First things first. Unforgivable Curses. Three o' 'em. Name 'em for five points t' yer house."

Almost immediately, three hands shot up: Stephen's, Hannah Abbott's, and Gregory Goyle's. Carrow debated for a half a moment before choosing. "Mr. Goyle?"

"Cruciatus, Imperius, and Killing."

"Well done, five points t' Slytherin. First o' those. Cruciatus, incantation is-" Stephen and Goyle both raised their hands again, along with Neville and Morag. "-Mr. Goyle?"

"Crucio."

"Correct. Another five points t' Slytherin. And t' cast it 'ffectively, you got t' - Mr. Longbottom?"

"Desire to cause the victim pain."

"Excellent. Three points t' Gryffindor."

"But sir," Lavender piped up, "you gave Slyther-"

"D'ya only want t' get one point 'stead, Miss Brown?" Lavender looked down at her lap. "Thought not."

As the silence echoed in the classroom, Carrow spoke up again. "Right, right. As y' see, got three kids who so kindly... _volunteered_...t' help with th' demonstration. I'll need a volunteer t' show us how th' curse is done."

"WHAT?" Terry's voice rang out. "But sir, surely this is unethical-"

"Silence, Mr. Boot, or five points from Ravenclaw. Like I was saying," Carrow continued, "I'll need a volunteer. Who wants t' do it?"

Almost immediately, half a dozen hands shot up, all from Slytherin. Carrow picked one from the crowd. "Ah, yes. Mr. Crabbe. Which one d'you want t' start with? The firstie, and the 'claw? The second-year, a 'puff? Or third-year, our little Gryffie?"

"Gryffindor."

Neville paled and Lavender whispered something to Parvati. The Gryffindor, a blonde, dark-eyed girl of about thirteen, gulped and stepped out in front of the class.

"State your name." Carrow glared at her.

"Natalie McDonald." Her eyes shifted to the floor.

"House?"

"Gryffindor." She clasped her hands together.

"Age?"

"Thirteen." Her voice was just barely audible.

"Blood status?"

"Half-blood." She seemed to shrink under Carrow's glare.

"Crime?"

"Wearing my tie too loosely." Natalie looked like she wanted to disappear. Anthony bit his lip; he couldn't blame her, but at the same time, he was only a prefect; he couldn't really _do_ anything for her.

Carrow stepped back. "Mr. Crabbe, would you please administer the punishment of ten Cruciatus Curses?" Crabbe raised his wand.

After what followed, Michael later admitted to Terry he was surprised she didn't cry until _after_ all was said and done.

0-0-0

None of the nine had much of an appetite at dinner that night. Su twirled her spoon around in her soup bowl; Anthony picked at his cauliflower. Even Terry, the perpetually hungry one, merely poked his roast with a fork.

"I can't eat it. Bloody hell, I can't even cut it." he moaned.

"And whyever not?" Padma asked as she served herself a chicken breast.

"Because," he replied, "all I can think about when I cut it is the sounds of the screaming. Like it's her I'm cutting, not some dead animal."

A collective shudder went down the spines of the group.

"Yeah, I think I'll stick to the chips and tapioca." Kevin grimaced.

Padma looked down at her chicken breast. "And to think, I was just looking forward to eating this too..."

"Lovely thought there, Boot. Morag, pass th' treacle tart, if you would, please?" Mandy asked.

0-0-0

Later that night in the dormitories, Michael was still wide awake. He sat up and looked to either side of him. Terry was flopped on his stomach with his head turned to the side and mouth half open, while Stephen was lying on his back and perfectly still. Across the way, Anthony was lightly snoring; Kevin was curled up on his side.

As he was the only one still awake, Michael didn't know what exactly he was going to do; then, a thought hit him, and he kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner. He scooted over to the beside table and grabbed his wand.

" _Lumos_ ," he whispered. The tip of the wand lit up, providing just enough light to see as he opened his bag and fetched the Self-Inking quill and parchment.

Ducking under the covers, he placed his wand down gently and began to write.

 _Dear Lisa,_

 _Gods, where do I begin? First week of classes is over. All went well, 'cept for the two taught by Carrows. Muggle Studies was just a rant about how "feckin' terrible them filthy creatures be" and got two feet of parchment assigned on why we think Muggles are inferior to wizards. It's bull, honestly; I've met your parents, Lisa, and they_ can't _be inferior if they've produced you. I mean, you kick arse, and your mum went to Cambridge, for crying out loud. Can't be that dumb to make the cut there, from what my cousin Ethan tells me. I wonder if Carrow would even notice if I bullshitted the essay so long's it got "filthy Muggles" and "mudbloods" thrown around like a quaffle on the pitch._

 _Dark Arts, though. Had that today. Horrid. Just horrid. Other Carrow started talking about the curses. The Unforgivables. And then, he had three feckin' tiny-arse kids who'd done petty-arse feckin' crimes come along into the class and the Slytherins - oh Gods, the Slytherins - jumped all over the chance to_ USE _the Cruciatus against the kid of their choice. Of course, three Slytherins opted out: Zabini, Nott, and Davis. The others all performed the curse to various degrees of success; Crabbe and Goyle were surprisingly adept, while Greengrass was just awful at it, thank Gods. But the screamin'; Gods, can't get it out of my head, can I? The little Gryffindor they chose, bless her heart, didn't even cry 'til 'twas all done. But I was too stunned to do shit to help her; Gods, if I could've just objected. But then, I'd've been the victim, wouldn't I?  
_

 _Gods, Lisa, if that's punishment this year, I sure as hell don't want to end up on either end of it. But surely I can stop it, somehow. You were the smarter of us two; you could've stopped it. I always did admire that about you. Your cleverness, the quick-on-your-feet thinkin' none of the rest of us really had. You'd've had a solution, wouldn't you? Maybe, once it's all over, you'll have been able to tell me what I could've done. I miss you, if you couldn't tell, and hope all is good for you and that you're safe._

 _Love always,_

 _Michael_

He sealed the letter with a tap of his wand and quietly crept out to put it in the hatbox. Once he made it back into the dorm, he put his wand on the beside, whispered " _Nox_ ," and settled in for a fitful night of sleep.

* * *

 **End Chapter Two.**

 **So to clarify a couple of minor things about relationships so far: Mandy has been dating Zacharias Smith for a short while (since about a month from the end of sixth year on) and Terry has a crush on Blaise Zabini, who's known to hit on anything that moves. Also, Michael and Lisa have been on-again, off-again since third year; during the "off-agains" Michael dated Ginny and Cho, but broke up with Cho at the end of his fifth year and had been slowly rebuilding his relationship with Lisa since Easter of sixth year. Then, of course, war screwed it all up and he hasn't heard from Lisa since the middle of July.**

 **Any other questions may be directed to my PMs while comments and criticisms can go to the reviews.**

 **Happy Reading,**

 **QC/Purple**


	3. Chapter 3: Or, Morag Gets Detention

**A/N: As J.K. Rowling has not adopted me, I have no claim to owning any of the characters whatsoever.**

* * *

It was near the end of September when it happened.

It'd been a Thursday morning like every other; Su'd gone off to History of Magic, Mandy had gone off to find Zacharias for an impromptu "study date," Padma and Anthony were at a prefects' meeting. Terry, Morag, Michael, Kevin and Stephen were all relaxing in the common room; Terry was reading his Charms book before class that afternoon, Michael was trying to decipher the charts he'd scribbled hastily in Astronomy the night before, while Morag was relaxing with a Muggle book and watching the other two boys play Exploding Snap.

Kevin had just lost the round when the door to the common room swung open. In walked Mandy, followed shortly thereafter by Zacharias; while Terry raised an eyebrow and Michael gave Zacharias a weird look, no further commentary followed, as the others were too engrossed in what they were doing to notice.

About twenty minutes later, Zacharias returned down the stairs. Anthony, who'd returned at this point, was the first to notice his presence.

"Smith, fancy seeing you here." Anthony stuck out the tip of his tongue as he focused on polishing a particularly tough spot on his badge.

Kevin looked up. "The hell did you end up here, anyhow?"

"Don't be daft, Kev, he was here for Mandy." Terry answered, his eyes never leaving his book.

"Shut up, Boot." Zacharias spat.

"Smith, if I find your bloody boxers anywhere in the room, I swear-"

"You'll what, MacDougall? You're a sodding _girl_ ; you couldn't hurt me if you tried."

Morag got off of the couch and drew herself to her full height; at five feet, nine inches, she was only slightly shorter than Smith was.

"What," she snarled, "did you just say to me?" Her dark eyes reflected her fury and her hair (which hadn't cooperated with efforts to tame it that morning) added to the effect that she was ever-so-slightly off her rocker.

"Is it that time of the month again, MacDougall? So bitchy, aren't ya? Of course y' are; y' can't help the fact you're weaker than me 'cause-"

 _SLAP._ Morag slowly pulled her hand back from Smith's face to reveal a large red welt.

"Ooh, that'll hurt for a while yet." Kevin whispered.

"What the- Bitch- I'm going to-" Zacharias seemed to be having trouble forming a coherent sentence.

"No, you're not going to be doing _anything_. Insult her again and I'll take twenty points from Hufflepuff. Leave." Anthony pointed one finger to the door; Zacharias didn't need to be told twice.

"Thanks." Morag sat back on the couch.

"Don't mention it."

"The hell does Mandy see in that tosspot anyway?" Stephen asked. The boys all looked at Morag, who shrugged.

"Well, to be fair," Terry said, "he _does_ have a decent arse, even if it's a bit flat from sitting on a broom all the time."

"Didn't need to think about that." Morag closed her eyes.

"You're welcome." Terry smirked. He looked down at his watch. "Twenty minutes until lunch now; let's go make sure we beat th' first years there."

"Always hungry, ain't ya?" Michael asked.

"You already know," Terry answered as he headed to the door.

0-0-0

Morag was halfway through her corned beef sandwich when she got the note.

"Detention...with the Carrows? You kidding me?" she cried.

"Wait, _what_? You're joking, right?" Terry grabbed the note from out of her hand and read it. "Nope, dammit." he muttered as he handed it back.

"Bloody hell, Morag, what'd you do?" Padma asked.

"Slapped Smith across the face, Pads; should've seen the look on 'is face after." Kevin took a bite out of his sandwich.

"But why?"

"He was being a dick, plain and simple. And Manders, let 'im know just 'cause he _has_ one don't mean he gets to _be_ one." Stephen answered Padma's question before Morag got the chance.

"Noted." Mandy said as she moved around the salad on her plate.

"You okay, Mandy?" Su looked over at the other girl, genuine concern edging its way into her voice.

"I'm _fine_." the brunette snapped.

"If you say so. Lunch is almost over, so I'm headed off to the library; see you later." Su left the table.

"Charms time then; come on, you lot, let's go." Terry looked over to Morag and Padma, who followed him out of the Great Hall.

0-0-0

As the detention was scheduled to start at seven, Morag thought it prudent to show up a few minutes early. When she got there, the only other person in the room was Neville Longbottom.

"Wasn't expecting t' see you tonight, Longbottom." Morag looked over at him as she plopped down on the desk.

"Nor I you, MacDougall. How'd you wind up in here, anyhow?" the Gryffindor shot back and raised his eyebrows at the curly-haired Ravenclaw.

"I may or may not've slapped Zacharias Smith for being a prat, then had him snitch on me." she replied.

"Wait, that was _you_? Bloody hell, MacDougall, remind me to never get on your bad side." he laughed. Morag blushed and smiled.

"What about you, then?" she asked.

"Nothing much really, just happened to call Parkinson a cow within earshot of Carrow." he answered.

"Damn, Longbottom, never would've expected that from ya." Morag said just seconds before the door opened.

"Good evenin' t' ya, Mr. Longbottom, Miss MacDougall." Professor Carrow said.

"Professor, sir, I didn't even hear you-"

"Oh, quit yer babblin', won't 'cha, Miss MacDougall. Now," he said, "I've gotcha here fer detention. Not only as punishment, but also as practice."

"Practice for what?" Neville asked.

"Idiot boy, what've we been doin' in th' class?"

"Cruci- wait, wait, what? Cruciatus Curse practice?" Morag shot up off the desk, almost overturning it in the process.

"Better yet, Miss MacDougall, guess who you'll be practicin' on. And it ain't me." he smirked.

The two students were too stunned to say anything, but they managed to exchange a look. In that brief moment, Morag saw one emotion in Neville's eyes. _Panic._

"But sir-"

"Silence, MacDougall."

"Sir," Morag continued, "I'm afraid I'm unable to-"

A flash of blue light, followed immediately by a dampness on her cheek. "SILENCE MACDOUGALL, AND NO COMPLAINING EITHER! Unless, of course, you wish to _extend_ your sentence?" Morag shook her head. "That's what I thought. Five points from Ravenclaw for your defiance."

The curly-haired girl hung her head in shame as Carrow continued. "As I was saying, you two will spend the next two hours practicing the curse on each other. Good luck." he sneered.

Morag, who was starting to tremble, raised her wand and looked for the most expensive-looking item in the room; luckily, it was just a few centimeters higher than Neville's left shoulder.

" _Crucio_ ," she whispered.

Immediately, the bookshelf cracked in two, causing the old books on top of it to fall; when they did, the globe below them shattered and at least two of the books cracked their spines.

Carrow's face bypassed red and bordered between crimson and maroon.

"Leave," he hissed. "Both of you, leave. Just this once, I'll let y' off. Do it again and you'll be in the ward at St. Mungo's for a month."

Morag gulped but complied, Neville following shortly after her.

"You're bleeding," Neville said as the door closed behind them.

"I know, Longbottom." Morag rolled her eyes.

"It looks pretty deep."

"Neville-"

"No, Morag, I'm serious. It looks like Carrow hit an artery. Let me take you to-"

"Longbottom, I'm fine. Please. Just...let me handle this."

"If you're sure."

"I am. Now go; I'll see you in class tomorrow." she said.

"Fine. See you tomorrow, MacDougall." Morag watched as he turned on his heel (almost tripping in the process) and left before heading upstairs herself.

0-0-0

"MORAG! What the hell-"

"Don't want to talk about it," she mumbled as she brushed past Terry.

"MacDougall. Couch. Now." Stephen ordered. "And Terry'll help me if you resist, so-"

"You're bloody impossible, you know that?"

"Was that...a pun, considering how bloody your face-"

"No, Cornfoot, I am _fine_."

"Bullocks." Stephen said as he turned to a vaguely queasy Kevin. "Kevin, get Padma. Now."

Not three minutes later was Padma downstairs, medical kit in hand. She blanched when she saw Morag's cheek, so coated in blood the few stray hairs were sticking in it and more was pouring out.

"Morag, what happened?" she asked as she prepped herself.

"Carrow happened." The other girl tried to scowl but winced in pain.

"Say no more. Let me run a couple quick diagnostics on you before we get any further." Padma pulled out her wand and ran it in the air over Morag, the tip glowing pink at the end of the third run-through. "Ah, a match." She swiped left and almost instantly a pink screen popped up, which she skimmed briefly before she frowned. "Oh, dear."

"What?" Morag asked.

"Well," Padma says as she charmed the blood off Morag's face, "it seems as though our good friend Carrow cut through several capillaries on your face and just nicked the end of an artery in the process. It should be good after a few drops of dittany, though."

"Dittany? Really, is that necess-"

"Be glad I have any," Padma cut in, "as it's hard to get ahold of now that Crete's restricted travel to all wizards, after Voldemort paid a little visit to their Ministry last June." She put three drops on the gash. "There we go. Should be better now, anyway."

Morag touched her cheek gingerly, feeling the new skin as it finished forming. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. After all, those hours volunteering at the hospital back in India had to come in handy sometime, didn't they?" Padma said as she cleaned up the mess.

Morag muttered something indistinguishable under her breath before heading back to their room.

0-0-0

In the morning, Kevin woke up before the rest of the seventh years. He grabbed his dressing robe and crept downstairs. When he made it to the common room, he was surprised to see Morag nodding off on the couch, her hair a nappy mess and still wearing her blood-spattered robes from the day before.

"MacDougall?" he whispered. She woke again with a start.

"Dammit, Kev, I was just beginning to nod off." she glared at the sandy-haired boy.

"Sorry, Morag, just wasn't expecting t' see y' down 'ere this early."

She waved him off. "It's fine. Just...y'know..."

"I get it." he said as he sat down beside her. "Light sleepers got to stick together, eh?"

"Yeah." There was silence for a good five minutes and Kevin thought she'd fallen asleep again when she asked, "D'you what's wrong with Mands?"

"No, why?"

"I heard her this morning, when I tried to sleep again, getting up, heading to the loo."

"Well, that's not unusu-"

"No, but all that retching before the flush is."

"Oh."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"Hope it's not contagious."

Morag looked at him for a moment before she spoke again. "Don't worry, Entwhistle; I'm pretty sure you're immune."

Before Kevin had a chance to ask her what she meant by that, she got up and headed back upstairs. A few moments later, he did the same.

* * *

 **End Chapter Three.**

 **No letter this time around; not every chapter will have them, but most will. However, since the first _major_ detention with the Carrows has now occurred, it's safe to assume someone wrote something about it and stuck it in the box. And the other question of the chapter: what's up with Mandy?  
**

 **Any guesses about what's wrong with Mandy can be left in the reviews (which are always appreciated) while other questions can be directed to my PMs, as usual.**

 **Happy reading,**

 **QC/Purple**


	4. Chapter 4: Tutoring & Tricky Situations

**A/N: If I owned the characters/franchise/whatever, why would I be writing and publishing stories about it where people could view it for free?**

* * *

Stephen groaned as he looked down at the pile of Transfiguration work before him. He knew he shouldn't have signed up for it past O.W.L. level, yet it was too late to back out now. Su, who was three seats over, looked down at him.

"Everything okay?" she asked

"No."

"What's it this time?"

"This class- I'm just so lost, I mean- look at all this work!"

Su let out a low whistle. "I don't think I have that much work to do."

"Half of it's review from fifth year. _Fifth year._ I mean, how _embarrassing_ is that? Smartest house in Hogwarts, and I can barely-"

"Stephen," Su interrupted him, "you got an E on the O.W.L. and we all know McGonagall wouldn't have let you anywhere _near_ the class if she didn't think you could handle the work."

He buried his face in his hands. "It just doesn't stick in my head. God, I almost got a T in class the other day when I couldn't do the work. A _T_ , for cryin' out loud. Even Longbottom wasn't this bad."

Su's features softened. "Oh, Stephen..."

"And even then, most of the others can do simple conjurations while I still can't properly Vanish shit half the time."

"I could help you, if you want." she offered.

Stephen looked up at her. "Really? You'd do that?"

"Well, yeah, we're friends, aren't we?" she knitted her brow in worry.

"Ohmygod, thank you!" Stephen grinned. Su smiled a little too.

"It's my pleasure, Stephen; I know you can do it." she replied.

"Right, yeah, so can you help me with this?" Stephen nudged a slip of parchment her way.

Su sighed internally. Just what had she gotten herself into?

0-0-0

Padma was relaxing in the library, doing some light reading before she had to start her rounds as a prefect.

As she flipped the page, she heard the chair across from her scrape its away across the floor before someone sat down. She looked up and was surprised to see Zacharias sitting across from her.

"Didn't think I'd ever see you in here, Smith," she said coolly as her eyes returned to the page.

"Not now, Patil. Listen. I don't want t' do this, really, but..." he huffed, and Padma put down her book.

"I'm all ears."

"Look, Mandy's been pushin' me away these last couple weeks, but she won't tell me why. D'you know?" Zacharias furrowed his brow as Padma shook her head. "Damn. Then can y' find out and let me know soon's y' do?"

"But why me? We both know Stephen and Kevin are closer to her than I; same with Morag, though I'm not surprised you didn't ask her."

"Didn't ask Entwhistle or Cornfoot because you're a girl, Patil-"

"Really now, couldn't have figured that out on my own," she muttered just loud enough for Zacharias to hear; he glared at her before continuing.

"-anyway, 'cause you're a girl and y' room with her and stuff, I thought you'd know more."

"Oh. Well, um-"

"And Patil, should you accept, I want to know _soon_. A man's got needs, y'know? Been two weeks since my last shag, and-" Padma held out a hand and he shut up.

"Okay, okay. Just...stop. I don't want to know who or _what_ you let in your trousers, Smith. I'll do it. For a small fee of ten galleons, of course."

He bit his lip for a moment before he sighed. "Fine. Guess I've got no real choice." He handed over the money. "Happy now?"

"Very. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got prefect duties to do." Padma packed up her book and scooted away from the table.

When she was a few steps away, she heard Zacharias call out her name. She turned around. "What?"

"I really do care about her, you know." he said.

"That's nice. See you around, Smith." she answered as she continued on her way.

 _Maybe he's not so bad after all,_ she thought to herself.

0-0-0

Terry had just entered the dorm room and set his bag down on his bed when he heard a loud noise from across the hall. He turned his head to look for the source, but the door was closed. He contemplated whether or not to investigate; his curiosity got the better of him and he ventured across the hall.

Luckily, the door was unlocked; Terry scanned the room for anything that looked out of the ordinary. Spying nothing, he was about to turn on his heel and leave when he heard retching noises coming from the loo.

"Hello?" Terry asked. The retching continued, so he quietly crept over to the bathroom door and waited for the noises to stop. Once they did, he knocked on the door. " _Helloooo_?" Silence. He tried the door handle, and it opened.

Once he entered the bathroom _,_ Terry noted how similar it was to the boys'. He was about to walk out when he heard a loud sob coming from the stall nearest the sink. He walked over and discovered that not only was the door open, a familiar petite figure was curled up on the floor.

"Mandy?" Terry asked. "what's wrong?"

Mandy looked up at him with tears running down your face. "Terry? Why're you-"

"Never mind that, Manders," he cut her off. "You're a mess. Let's get y' cleaned up, then you can talk t' me if y' want."

She nodded. "Can you wait outside, though?"

"Will do." Terry answered as he left the bathroom. He sat down on Mandy's bed and started looking around the room; though he'd been in the girls' side of the hall a few times before, none of those times had been for long periods.

About ten minutes later, Mandy exited the loo and joined him.

Silence followed; Terry broke it. "So."

"So," Mandy sighed, flopping back on the bed. "I guess you'd've found out sooner or later."

"What d'you mean?"

"Terry," Mandy said, "you remember that time Pomfrey took our year aside halfway through first year to talk about-"

Terry buried his face in his hands. "Oh, Godric, Manders, not _that_ talk."

"Yup. Diagrams and all about-"

" _Wizardry and Puberty_." they finished together.

"But what does that have t' do with-"

"Remember how she talked about how babies are made?" Terry's ears tinged bright red and he nodded. "And the symptoms confirming it?"

Terry jerked his head up. "Manders, are you trying to tell me-"

"Terry," Mandy said, "I'm pregnant."

"Holy shit."

"No kidding."

"Was that... a _pun_?" Mandy groaned and kicked him.

"Does anyone else know?" Terry asked.

"Know what?" Terry turned to face the door.

"Afternoon to you too, Morag."

"Save it, Boot. What's she telling you that I don't know?" Morag said as she set her things on the bed next to Mandy's.

Terry and Mandy exchanged a look.

"Well? C'mon then, can't that ba-"

"I'mpregnantandZachdoesn'tknowyetandneitherdoesanyoneelse." Mandy said all in one breath.

"Come again?" The curly-haired girl said as she positioned herself on her bed facing Mandy.

"I said," Mandy replied, "I'm pregnant and Zach doesn't know yet and neither does anyone else. Outside th' doors of this room, I mean."

Morag let out a low whistle. "Damn."

"Manders," Terry asked, "promise me something."

She raised an eyebrow. "I s'pose I could..."

"Visit Pomfrey and let her know, and tell the rest of our year soon. I mean, not, like, the 'puffs and stuff, 'cept Smith, but-"

"Stephen and Kevin and Su and them all? Yeah, I think I will." Mandy sighed. "God, what timing, too."

"No shite." Morag answered back.

"Speaking of timing," Terry said, "Dinner's starting in fifteen minutes. Let's head out."

"Always thinking of your stomach, aren'cha?" Morag asked.

"You already know." Terry said as he got off of the bed and offered Mandy a hand to help her up.

* * *

 **End Chapter Four.**

 **So yes, it's been a while since I've updated. Apologies for that; school's been busy and starts again Monday. Oh, joy.**

 **And now the cat's out of the bag: Mandy's knocked up. But how will Zacharias react? Time will tell (but hopefully not four months' time this go-around).**

 **Again, no letter, but there'll be one for sure next chapter.**

 **Please review/favorite/follow/blahblahblah and direct any questions to my PMs.**

 **Happy 2016 and happier reading,**

 **QC/Purple**


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